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Message Monday 3/27/17 – Love Your Neighbor: The Return

Jon Taylor – Lead Pastor

“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” Edmund Burke Most Americans think we are in unique financial times, especially since the big crash of 2008. But Cicero, in 55 BC, had this to say about Rome: “The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of the officials should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

It’s true about nations, and it’s true about us individually – if we don’t learn from our past then we will end up repeating it, which is a problem if we continue to mismanage the financial resources God gives us. Most financial mismanagement is under the heading of taking on too much debt. The average American household that carry these kinds of debt has $16,748 in credit card debt; $28,948 in auto loan debt, and $49,905 in student loan debt. Think about that. We’re drowning in debt!

God’s desire is for us to be debt free. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” I don’t want to be anyone’s slave so June and I made the decision years ago to become debt free, and we’ve experienced a great deal of financial freedom as a result.

You can get out of debt by:
• Making an irrevocable commitment to God and yourself that you’re going to get out of debt.
• Not taking on any more debt.
• Putting God first in your giving.
• Developing a spending plan.
• Adjusting your lifestyle, and Begin to pay off all your debts, using the debt snowball.

If you’ve learned from your past and you’re ready to not repeat your financial history, I encourage you to sign up for Financial Peace University, which starts on April 5. You can be debt free and give generously to building the Kingdom! Don’t be a slave to debt any longer. Change your family tree and gain financial peace and be a wise steward the resources God has given you.